A VINDICATION 



General Samuel Holden Parsons 



AGAINST THE CHARGE OF TREASONABLE CORRESPONDENCE 
DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 





By HON. GEO. B. LORING. 



From The Magazine of Ajubrican History for October, 1888, with an 

APPENDIX CONTAINING LETTERS FROM GeN. W. T. ShERMAN, 

Hon. Chas. J. McCurdy and Chas. A. Hall, Esq. 



PRINTED AT THE SALEM PRESS 
SALEM, MASS. 
1$ 



1 «»» ^i> 



A VINDICATION 



OF 



General Samuel Holden Parsons 



AGAINST THE CHARGE OF TREASONABLE CORRESPONDENCE 
DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 



By HON. GEO. B^LORING. 



From the Magazine of American History for October, 1888, with am 

APPENDIX CONTAINING LETTERS FROM GeN. W. T. ShERMAN, 

Hon. Chas. J. McCuroy and Chas. A. Hall, Esq. 



PRINTED AT THE SALEM PRESS 

SALEM, MASS. 
1888 



"W1&- Hisi, So<J| 



p-T,^ 



DEDICATED TO 

GEN. W. T. SHERMAN 

who represents by inheritance the loyalty and patriotism 
of Connecticut and Ohio, to whose civil organization 
Samuel Holden Parsons devoted his courage and fidelity 
as a soldier and his wisdom as a jurist and statesman. 



(3) 



LETTER OF VINDICATION. 



Salem ^ Mass., August 10, 1888, 

To Mrs. Martha J. Lamb 

Uditor of the Magazine op American History. 

The appearance in your magazine for October, 1883, 
and in subsequent numbers, of " Sir Henry Clinton's Orig- 
inal Secret Record of Private Daily Intelligence " has at- 
tracted great attention among American historians, and 
has seriously injured the reputation of General Samuel 
Holden Parsons whose name and conduct are frequently 
referred to by W. Heron in letters addressed to the com- 
mander of the British forces in New York during the early 
part of the year 1781. The celebrations of the settlement 
of Marietta in 1883 and 1888 have brought the name of 
General Parsons conspicuously before the public, and 
opened discussion with regard to the inculpatory letters 
discovered in the Clinton record. These letters have been 
accepted in important quarters as conclusive of General 
Parsons' guilt. Several attempts have been made to vin- 
dicate him, but they have not been complete on account of 
the absence |of suflSicient documentary evidence. I have 
endeavored, however, to present his true and loyal record 
from unpublished letters in the U. S. State Department 
from the Trumbull letters which have been courteously 

(5) 



opened for use in the library of the Massachusetts Histor- 
ical Society, from a few letters offered for sale, and from 
authentic liistories. 

Among the distinguished officers in the American Army 
of the Revolution, General Parsons of Connecticut was 
conspicuous and useful during the war. He was a son of 
the Rev. Jonathan Parsons, a strong-minded and influen- 
tial New England minister, who was born hi Springfield, 
Mass., in 1705, was graduated at Yale in 1729, and was 
pastor of the Congregational church in Lyme, Conn., in 
1731- '45, having adopted the Armenian form of faith. 
Having; become a follower and friend of Whitfield he re- 
moved to Newburyport, where he joined the great preacher 
hi his laliors, gave him a home in his declining years and 
preached his funeral sermon. He died in 1776 just at the 
breaking out of the Revolutionary war, when his son Sam- 
uel Holden was nearly forty years old, and was engaged 
in the active service of life to which he brought the strong 
intellectual and moral qualities he had inherited from his 
father. 

General Parsons was graduated at Harvard in 1755, 
studied law under his uncle Gov. Matthew Griswold, was 
admitted to the bar in 1759, settled as a lawyer in Lyme, 
Conn., and entered at once upon important civil service. 
He was in the state assembly eighteen sessions, an influ- 
ential member engaged in supporting many measures of 
interest to the commonwealth, and in adjusting difficul- 
ties with the adjoining states. He originated the plan of 
forming the first congress which prepared the way for 
organizing the continental congress. In 1773 he removed 
to New London and was a member of the Committee of 
Correspondence. During these years of active civil life 
he had turned his attention somewhat to military affairs 
and "on 26 April, 1775, he was appointed Colonel of the 



6th regiment stationed at Roxbury, Mass., until the Brit- 
ish evacuated Boston, and then ordered to New York." 

Having obtained from Benedict Arnold an account of 
the condition of Ticonderoga, he projected a plan for the 
capture of the fort ; and, without consulting the civil au- 
thorities of the state of Connecticut, he obtained money from 
the treasury to defray the expenses of the expedition on 
his own receipt, called Ethan Allen with New Hampshire 
recruits to his aid, was strengthened by volunteers from 
Berkshire, Mass., and captured the fortress. He partic- 
ipated in the battle of Long Island in 1776, was commis- 
sioned as brigadier general for gallant service, served at 
Harlem Heights and White Plains and was stationed at 
Peekskill to protect the important post on North River. 
"He planned the expedition to Sag Harbor and reen- 
forced Washington in New Jersey." He commanded the 
troops in the Highlands in 1778-79, at a time when Gen. 
Rufus Putnam constructed the fortifications at West Point. 
He prevented the incursion of the British into Connecti- 
cut ; was one of the board that tried Maj. John Andre; 
was commissioned as major general in 1780, succeeded 
Gen. Israel Putnam and served until the close of the war. 
During all this period he held the entire confidence of 
Washington , was in constant correspondence with him, and 
cooperated with all his military operations in and around 
New York. Col. Humphreys the scholar and poet of the 
American Army, the brave soldier, the favorite and confi- 
dential friend of Washington, in his poem ou "The Hap- 
piness of America," says of Parsons :- 

"I too 

Shall tell from whom I learned the martial art, 
With what high chiefs I played my early part, 
With Parsons first, whose eye with piercing ken 
Beads through their hearts, the characters of men." 



8 

At the close of the war he resumed the practice of law 
at Middletovvn, Conn., was appointed by Congress a Com- 
missioner to treat with the Miami Indians in 1785 ; was 
an active member of the State Constitutional Convention 
in 1788, and the same year was appointed by Washington 
the first judge of the Northwest territory. He was an 
active and efficient member of the Ohio Company and 
joined Manasseh Cutler and Kufus Putnam in organizing 
the settlement of Marietta. For all this long life of civil 
and military service he was deemed worthy of an elab- 
orate sketch in Hildreth's Pioneers of Ohio ; he was 
counted among the wise leaders of the Colony in the ora- 
tion which I delivered at Marietta on the ninety-fifth an- 
niversary of the settlement of Ohio, and was referred to 
as "a son of a most learned and pious minister of Massa- 
chusetts, a sagacious companion of Washington, one of 
the foremost and ablest citizens of this state of his adop- 
tion." 

He was also eulogized by the Hon. George F. Hoar in 
his centennial oration on the same spot, in which he spoke 
of him as "soldier, scholar, judge, one of the strong- 
est arms on which Washington leaned, who first suggest- 
ed the Continental Congress, from the story of whose 
life could almost be written the history of the Northern 
War." 

Of this American patriot and statesman who has been 
considered worthy of this honorable record for nearly a 
century, the Cyclopaedia of American Biography, recently 
published, says :- 

"It has recently been discovered in a letter that is pre- 
served in the manuscript volume of Sir Henry Clinton's 
original record of daily intelligence, now in the library of 
Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet of New York City, that Gen. 



Parsons was in secret communication with Sir Henry 
Clinton, and that one William Heron, a representative 
from Fairtield in the Connecticut legislature was the inter- 
mediary to whom Parsons wrote letters which witli the 
knowledge of their author were sent to the enemy's head- 
quarters. Under date of July 8, 1781, he wrote : 

'The five regiments of our states are mare than 1,200 
men deficient of their complement, the other states (ex- 
cept Rhode Island and New York who are fuller) are 
nearly in the same condition. Our magazines are few in 
number. Your fears for them are groundless. They are 
principally at West Point, Fishkill, Wapping Creek and 
Newburg, which puts them out of the enemy's power, ex- 
cept they attempt their destruction by a force sufiicient 
to secure the Highlands, which they cannot do, our guards 
being sufficient to secure them from small parties. The 
French troops encamped yesterday on our left, near the 
Tuckahoe road. Their number I have not had an oppor- 
tunity to ascertain. Other matters of information I shall 
be able to give you in a few days.' This letter was sent 
by Heron to Maj. Oliver DeLancey, to whom Heron wrote 
that he had concerted measures with Parsons by which he 
would receive every material article of intelligence from 
the American camp. Parsons' treason is also corroborat- 
ed by Revolutionary papers of Major John Kissam of the 
British Army." 

And Winsor, in a foot-note, in the Narrative and Crit- 
ical History of the U. S., speaks of Parsons as "a spy for 
the British Army." 

The letter to Heron, upon which the charge of treason 
against Gen. Parsons is made to hang, is included in a 
long list of letters written by Heron to Sir Henry Clinton, 
and is capable of two interpretations. Had it been writ- 
ten to Washington it would have been received as a friendly 
2 



10 

communication stating the weakness of both sides, the 
American and the English — and of no great value as an 
account of either. On its very face it bears this interpre- 
tation. But Heron, after repeated promises that he could 
enlist Gen. Parsons in the British cause against his own 
country, offers this letter to the enemy as a contribution 
of Parsons to the British commander, written as to a "con- 
fidential friend" in order to disguise its purpose. Heron 
had promised for six months to enlist Parsons as an English 
ally and his promise had not been fulfilled ; and so on July 
15, 1781, he wrote to Major DeLancey announcing that 
"our friend" (Parsons) "was ready to convey all intelli- 
gence in accordance with a conversation between himself 
(Heron) and DeLancey in form of "queries and answers," 
April 25, and stating that Parsons would write to a "con- 
fidential friend" who could use the information as he 
pleased. 

The queries were : - 

1. The state of the Army. 

2. The state of the French. 

3. How each army is situated. 

4. What enterprises they mean to undertake. 

5. What supplies, and whence do they expect to 
subsist. 

6. Where the magazines are and how to be de- 
stroyed. 

7. The movement of the French fleet and their in- 
tentions. 

8. News from the southward of consequence. 

9. Situation of the different posts. 

10. News from Europe. 

11. The hopes of the ensuing campaign. 
All of which Heron answers with great caution. 

And in order to prove Parsons' fidelity Heron announced 



11 

his desire to obtain a place for his son in the British Navy. 
Heron says also that he came iincler the sanction of a com- 
mission from Gov. Trnml)ull to cruise in the Sound, and 
that he entered upon the expediti(m "purely to draw in 
ouv friend,''^ who was not in after six months of Heron's 
efforts and written promises to Clinton. In this letter 
Heron enclosed Parsons' letter of July 8, to himself, 
which the Cyclopaedia publishes as proof of Parsons' dis- 
loyalty. 

The letter from Lt. Col. DeWurrab to Major Kissam, 
April 23, 1781, also referred to in the Cyclopaedia is as 
follows : 

" Sir : I enclose a passport for Mr. Heron and should wish for his 
return to Stamford whenever the wind will permit it. I have not as 
yet received answer from New York, but as soon as those things 
wanted by General Parsons shall arrive I will forward them to the 
General by another flag. I have the honor to be 

DeWurmb." 

We are not informed what " those things" were, nor is 
there any further reference to them. 

The correspondence between Heron and Sir Henry 
Clinton and DeLancey, which ended with Heron's letter 
of July 15, 1781, commenced Sept. 21, 1780, in a letter 
written to Clinton, giving an account of affairs in Amer- 
ica and setting forth the value of his extraordinary oppor- 
tunities for observing the condition of those affairs. 

Feb. 4, 1781, Heron wrote again to Sir Henry Clinton 
giving an account of the convention in Hartford to found 
a coalition between the Eastern and York counties, stat- 
ing what Parsons and Stark represented to him with re- 
gard to the wretched condition of the American army and 
the small number of the troops in the Highlands ; and 
cautioned Clinton against those who would deceive him, 
at the same time repeating that he had special chances for 
knowing the secrets of the cabinet. 



12 

Heron's statement, in this letter, of the opinions of 
Parsons and Stark with regard to the condition of the 
American army, is merely a repetition of what Parsons 
had already reported to Washington. 

March 11, 1781, Heron writes: "Gen. Parsons' aid-de- 
camp, whose name is Lawrence, is soliciting leave to come 
in to see his mother. He thinks it is in our power to tam- 
per with him and that from Parsons' mercenary dispo- 
sition there is little doubt of success." 

April 24, 1781, Heron wrote to Major DeLancey set- 
ting forth elaborately his delicate negotiations with Par- 
sons, in which he had infonned him of an interview with 
a New York gentleman in which Parsons was highly com- 
plimented. He added that Parsons listened with uncom- 
mon attention, and considered that it might be best that 
he should resign his commission in the American army in 
order to give greater effect to his services for Clinton. 
He continues his letter by stating : " I have been necessi- 
tated to use all this circumlocution in order to convince 
him of the delicacy observed in making the above propo- 
sitions and that nothing was intended inconsistent with the 
purest principles of honor." He desired also " to secure 
himself a retreat" should the matter be " disagreeable to 
Parsons." 

The next mornins: havino; " renewed his conversation" 
with General Parsons, he adds : " I shall be in situation 
this summer (I hope) to render essential service, having 
carried my election against Judge Sanford who is of one 
of the first families in the place." 

A note to this letter, made by DeLancey, gives a mem- 
orandum of the points Heron promises to get from Gen- 
eral Parsons, such as the exact state of West Point ; what 
troops ; what magazines ; who commands. 

"Hiram," a signature assumed by Heron, is to let Sir 
Henry know what Parsons' wish is and " how we can serve 



13 

him." Heron makes "no doubt of bringing Parsons to do 
what we wish." 

About this time Heron wrote an account of the route 
taken by the French troops, which he said he had thus 
early from General Parsons, "who had it from the French 
officers." 

June 17, 1781, Heron wrote that General Parsons as- 
sisted him in reaching New York at that time and con- 
certed measures for their future conduct with regard to 
conveying such intelligence as might come to his knowl- 
edge, but expressing still a doubt as to how far "intriguing 
persons" could be relied on ; adding, "I find the gentleman 
in question will not say he will go such length as I could 
wish," — meaning General Parsons. 

July 15, 1781, Heron wrote the letter already quoted 
which he used as a vehicle for conveying the letter of a 
" confidential friend," the form in which, according to 
agreement with Sir Henry Clinton, information was here- 
after to be conveyed to him by Heron. 

In this correspondence which had continued with some 
regularity for five months from Feb. 4 to July 15, with 
the one exception of Sept. 21, 1780, Heron appears as a 
spy and an informer whether for General Parsons or for 
Sir Henry Clinton, contemporaneous events and corre- 
spondence alone can show. That he was not a sympathizer 
with the American cause was well known. Todd, in the his- 
tory of Redding, says of him, " in the revolution he sided 
with the king and was the recognized leader of the Tories 
of Redding Ridge. At the time of Tryon's invasion he 
openly gave aid and comfort to the enemy." He is re- 
corded as an " enemy of the Declaration of Independence." 
At the same time he was a member of the Connecticut 
legislature in 1778, 1779, 1780, 1781, from 1784 to 1790, 
and in 1795 and 1796. "His position brought him in per- 



14 

sonal relations with the leading men of Connecticut and 
he was in full correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton." 
" He stands well with the officers of the continental army 
— with General Parsons he is intimate, and is not sus- 
pected ;" says General Robertson of the British army. So 
far as Sir Henry Clinton is concerned, the value of his ser- 
vices were exceedingly small. The facts he furnished with 
regard to the American army were few and well known to 
all. He never succeeded in committing General Parsons 
to the enemy ; on the contrary, when asked by Major De- 
Lancey, Jan. 20, 1781, "Is it your opinion that General Par- 
sons will enter so heartily as to make us hope he will take 
an open and determined stand in our favor?" he replies, 
" It is my opinion that he does not wish to take an open 
and above-board part at present." He records no treason- 
able act of Parsons, and the only communication he secured 
from him was the " confidential friend " letter which might 
or might not have been intended for the eye of Sir Henry 
Clinton. 

There is abundant evidence, however, that he was acting 
as a spy and an informer for General Parsons and the Com- 
mander-in-chief of the American army, who were con- 
stantly using the information secured by American spies. 
"Washington, through Captain Walker, one of his agents, 
was informed that great numbers from Connecticut " are 
removing to the state of Vermont," which was a place of 
refuge; and he wrote to General Parsons Feb. 22, 1781, 
as follows: — "Your knowledge of the country and char- 
acter of the people will enable you best to conduct the in- 
vestigation and as you live in one of the counties where it 
seems to originate you may do it with less risk of suspi- 
cion. I have therefore to request that you will undertake 
the affair and in the manner you think most likel}'- to suc- 
ceed and will set about it immediately. The person who 



15 

will serve you as a spy must be assured of some generous 
compensation such as would be an object to his family and 
secure his fidelity." 

In his reply to this dated March 14, 1781, General Par- 
sons sets forth elaborately the state of the case to which 
Washington refers. He believes an association is formed 
to submit to the British government ; that the number of 
associates is daily increasing ; that their names are trans- 
mitted to New York as often as opportunity presents ; 
that persons are employed to enlist these men ; that reg- 
ular stages of intelligence are established from the shores 
through the country to Canada ; that despatches have lately 
gone through these channels to Vermont. He thinks it 
will be difficult to detect the plan in its extent. He en- 
larges upon the magnitude and danger of the conspiracy 
and upon the fact that great numbers in many towns are 
supplying the enemy with provisions, and are demoraliz- 
ing the young men about them ; suggesting that it is diffi- 
cult to deal with the evil which has taken so deep root. 
He informs Washington that the state has passed stringent 
laws against all who come into the state for plunder, and 
asks how he shall proceed under the circumstances. He 
concludes his letter as follows : 

"The spy employed among them has assurances of gen- 
erous pay for all the time he employs and expenses incurred 
in the service, or a handsome gratuity when he has done 
what he can , to be settled in some more secure plan if he 
is detected and obliged to fly from his present settlement 
(which will be the case if he is discovered), and if he suc- 
ceeds in discovering the full extent of the plan, so that the 
concerned may be detected and it shall prove to be as ex- 
tensive as is supposed he shall be gratified with an annuity 
of one hundred dollars per annum for life, as a reward for 
his services. I believe him faithful and industrious in mak- 
ijig discoveries necessary." 



16 

On April 20, 1781, he wrote to Washington : "The per- 
son on whom our principal dependence is placed has been 
very faithful and employed almost the whole time iu the 
service ; and been at considerable expense which by reason 
of his indigent circumstauces he is unable to support. I 
must, therefore, beg Your Excellency to order him to be 
paid." 

It is altogether probable that these communications re- 
ferred to Heron of whom he wrote the following letter to 
General Washington, dated Danbury, Apr. 6, 1782. 

"Dear General: "When last with you I forgot to mention the 
name of Mr. William Heron of Redding who has for several years had 
opportunities of informing himself of the state of the enemy, their de- 
signs and intentions with more certainty and precision than most men 
who have been employed ; as I have now left service I think it my 
duty to inform Your Excellency of this person, and my reasons for be- 
lieving him more capable of rendering service that way than most peo- 
ple are, that he may be employed if necessary. 

He is a native of Ireland, a man of very large knowledge, and a great 
share of natural sagacity, united with a sound judgment; but of as 
unmeaning a countenance as any person in my acquaintance. With 
this appearance he is as little suspected as any man can be ; an officer 
in the department of the Adjutant General; is a countryman and very 
intimate acquaintance of Mr. Heron, through which channel he has 
been able frequently to obtain important and very interesting intelli- 
gence ; that he has had access to some of their secrets a few facts will 
show beyond a doubt. Your Excellency will remember I informed you 
of the contents of a letter you wrote to Virginia which was intercepted 
a year ago but not published. This letter his friend shew him of the de- 
scent made last year on New London, I was informed by liim and made 
a written representation of it to the Governor and Council three days 
before it took place. This he had through the same channel. He has 
frequently brought me the most accurate descriptions of the posts oc- 
cupied by the enemy and more rational accounts of their numbers, 
strength and designs than I have been able to obtain in any other way. 
As to his character I know him to be a consistent national whig; he 
is always in the field on every alarm and has in every trial proved him- 
self a man of bravery ; he has a family and a considerable interest in 
this state and from the beginning of the war has invariably followed 
the measures of the country. I might add as a circumstdnce of his 
fidelity his delivering a letter from General Arnold to Major Andre to 



17 

nie instead of bearing it where it was directed, which letter you have. 
In opposition to this his enemies suggest he carries on an illicit trade 
with the enemy; but I have lived two years the next door to him and 
am fully convinced he has never had a single article of any kind for sale 
during that time, nor do I believe he was in the most distant manner 
connected with commerce at that time or any subsequent period. I 
know many persons of more exalted character are also accused, none 
more than Governor Trumbull nor with less reason. I believe the 
Governor and Mr. Heron as clear of this business as I am and I know 
myself to be totally free from everything which has the least connec- 
tion with that commerce. 

I think it my duty to give this full information of his character that 
if you should think it expedient to employ him you might have some 
knowledge of the man that you might be better able to satisfy your- 
self, if you should send for him. I believe on conversation he would 
give you entire satisfaction. I am, dear General, with the highest es- 
teem, 

Your Excellency's obedient servant, 

Samukl H. Parsons." 

It is safe to assume that Heron was a professional spy 
and was looked on by Parsons as such. There is no doubt 
that through him the Governor of Connecticut knew of 
Arnold's expedition, three days before it took place. And 
nowhere do we find that Parsons suspected him of treason- 
able designs. Heron may have been opposed to the doc- 
trines on which the Revolutionary war was fought ; but 
we find him engaged in the civil service of the State and 
we may safely class his inconsistencies with the methods 
adopted by spies in transacting their business. His re- 
corded treason is capable of this interpretation ; his alleged 
treasonable acts are matters of tradition. Todd says : 
"The history of the Episcopal church in Connecticut in- 
forms us that the Redding association of loyalists was a 
strong body whose secret influence was felt throughout the 
mission of the venerable pastor." The pastor was the Rev. 
John Beach, an Episcopal minister of great power, who 
was settled at Redding Ridge, and who "declared he would 



18 

do his duty, preach, and pray for the King till the rebels 
cut his tongue out." Heron belonged to this church. But 
we should remember that while in the town of Redding, 
Hawes and Hirlehigh and Hall and Kane and Kellogg 
and Lacy and Lane and Lyon and Manrow and Captain 
Morgan and Perry and the six Platts and RoUbins and Sey- 
mour and Turner, most of whom were Episcopalians and 
all of whom were loyalists, were banished and their es- 
tates confiscated. Heron remained in civil service through- 
out the war and retained the confidence and regard of the 
American officers. Among the Trumbull papers has been 
found a significant letter of Heron to Parsons which throws 
additional light on their relation to each other, and on the 
status of General Parsons : 

Jan. 5, 1781, Heron writes to Parsons that one McNeil 
had written him from New York that he had almost closed 
the settlement of the late Mr. Thompson's estate, and was 
ready to pay him a sum due him in compliance with a 
charge of Thompson on his death-bed. He urges his need 
of money and wants a flag of truce to get to New York. 

The career of Heron, inconsistent as it may appear, is 
entirely in accordance with that of many men employed in 
the same service during the Revolutionary war. The con- 
fusion of that period can hardly be overstated. The skir- 
mishing battles, the skilful retreats, the endeavors to 
mislead, the pertinacious courage and defiance of the pa- 
triots, the widespread devotion to the King, the indecision 
of Congress, the worse than indecision of the state legisla- 
tures, the discontents and desertions of the army, the suf- 
fering of the soldiers starving in the midst of plenty, the 
desperate system of espionage made tragic by the fate of 
Hale and Palmer and Andre, all combined to render any 
account of many of the events doubtful, and any fair inter- 
pretation of them extremely difficult. It may seem that 



19 

such espionage as Heron practised is impossible ; but even 
the vivid imagination of Cooper has not overdrawn tlie pic- 
ture, in his delineation of Harvey Birch in tlie Spy. This 
creation of the fancy was based upon reality. During the 
war, the "royal cause" gained such preponderance that a 
secret committee was appointed by Congress for the ex- 
press purpose of defeating the object of its supporters. 
In the discharge of the novel duties which devolved on the 
committee, John Jay, Chairman, "had occasion," Cooper 
tells us in the introduction to The Spy, "to employ an agent 
whose services differed but little from those of a common 

spy It was his office to learn in what part of the 

country the agents of the crown were making their efforts 
to embody men, to repair to the place, enlist, appear zeal- 
ous in the cause he affected to serve, and otherwise to get 
possession of as many of the secrets of the enemy as possi- 
ble." He was often arrested, "but was permitted to escape ; 
and this seeming, and indeed actual peril was of great aid 
in supporting his assumed character among the English. 
By the Americans, in his little sphere he was denounced 
as a bold and inveterate tory. In this manner he contin- 
ued to serve his country in secret during the early years of 
the struggle, hourly environed by danger and the constant 
subject of unmerited opprobium." 

The story of Elisha H so well told by Cooper in a 

footnote of The Spy, is familiar to every reader of that 
thrilling tale. "This person," he says, "was employed 
by Washington, as one of his most confidential spies. 
He was allowed to enter into the service of Sir Henry 
Clinton . . . and he was often intrusted by Washington 
with minor military movements, in order that he might 
enhance his value with the English general, by communi- 
cating them. In this capacity he ascertained the force 
and destination of a detachment ordered on an expedition 



20 

against the town of Bedford in Westchester county. This 
he succeeded in communicating to Washington by a note 
signed with his own initials, E. H., and forwarded by cour- 
ier, while he remained in New York. The communication 
was too late, Bedford was tal^en, the commandant was 
killed, and the note of E. H. was found on his person. 
The next day being confronted with the note by Sir Henry 
Clinton, and asked if he knew the handwriting and who 
E. H. was, he replied with the quiet and sudden audacity 
of an accomplished spy of those days, ' it is Elisha Hadden 
the spy you hanged yesterday at Paulus Hook.' Sir 
Henry Clinton allowed him to quit his presence and he 
never saw him afterward." 

Espionage in war is considered an imperative necessity ; 
but the risk run by employing it cannot be overestimated, 
both as regards the fate of the spy and the reputation of 
his employer. It was by this means that Washington kept 
himself well informed of the secret designs of British com- 
manders. His spies, unknown to each other, were stationed 
at every point in New York. They were usually on terms of 
intimacy with the British officers and were enabled to ob- 
tain their information from the most reliable sources ; and, 
had their correspondence been preserved, it is altogether 
probable that many of them would enjoy a reputation as 
doubtful as that which Sir Henry Clinton's record of secret 
correspondence has secured for Heron. 

In order to judge of the connection of General Parsons 
with the correspondence of Heron, it becomes necessary 
to ascertain the course he was pursuing as an officer while 
the correspondence was going on. Of his services in the 
army prior to this time, it is unnecessary to speak ; he was 
known throughout the country as a faithful and devoted 
supporter of the patriot cause on the field and in council. 
Of his services during the six months from January to July 



21 

1781, we fortunately have a record, not hitherto published, 
but found largely in his unpublished letters to Washing- 
ton, filed in the State Department. The part he performed 
in the events of the six months preceding the correspond- 
ence, and during the period in which Heron's letters were 
written, is well known to have been efficient and honora- 
ble. In July, 1780, the French army and navy arrived 
in Newport and increased the responsibilities and duties 
of the American army around New York. The campaign 
was inspired with new vigor ; and as the activity increased 
the difficulties seemed to increase also. Arnold's treason 
and Andre's execution as a spy intensified the anxiety of 
the Americans, and exasperated the British. As the year 
1781 opened, mutiny among the Pennsylvania troops broke 
out in Morristown and threatened the destruction of that 
line. Six hundred troops were taken from the Highlands 
and under the command of General Howe were marched 
to New Jersey to quell an insurrection in the Anierican 
forces there. The powers of Congress were found to be 
doubtful and inefficient. Of the condition of the army at 
this time Washington wrote : — 

"Instead of having everything in readiness to take the 
field we have nothing; and, instead of having the prospect 
of a glorious offensive campaign before us, we have a be- 
wildered and defensive one unless we should receive a pow- 
erful aid of ships, land troops and money from our generous 
allies, and these at present are too contingent to build up- 
on." 

On the soil of Connecticut, at Weathersfield, May 23, a 
conference took place between the American and French 
connnanders, from which Washington issued a circular 
letter to the governor of the eastern states making an ur- 
gent call for reinforcements an appeal received with great 
indiflcrence. The invasion of Connecticut and the burn- 



22 

ing of New London by Arnold gave a local importance 
to the trying events which oppressed the country at this 
time. It was under these circumstances that Heron pro- 
fessed to be able to deliver General Parsons into the hands 
of Sir Henry Clinton, according to the recently discovered 
correspondence. At a time when the United French and 
American forces were preparing to make an attack on New 
York with every prospect of success, an undertaking which 
was abandoned by Washington on the arrival of the French 
forces in the Chesapeake, by whose aid Cornwallis was 
overpowered ; at a time when the clouds began to 
break, and treason was especially odious and every sen- 
timent of patriotism was roused. General Parsons, who was 
just appointed by the Governor of Connecticut to com- 
mand the state troops, is charged with holding treason- 
able correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton. Of his 
conduct and his opinions at that time his letters to Wash- 
ington furnish a complete record, a record as I think of 
entire vindication. 

The spirit of General Parsons is so well illustrated by 
a correspondence between himself and Tryon a year be- 
fore the Heron letters commenced, September, 1779, that 
I am inclined to introduce it here as preliminary to the 
more important and direct letters to which I have re- 
ferred. On Jan. 15, 1779, Tryon wrote to General Put- 
nam and General Parsons advising them to make no at- 
tempt to prcJii^t a "reunion with the parent state." On 
Sept. 7, 1779, Parsons, whom HoUister calls "one of the 
bravest and most accomplished officers of the Revolution- 
ary era," replied, denouncing Tryon's conduct " in the de- 
fenceless towns of Connecticut" reminding him of the 
declaration of war against England by France, of the 
English disasters in the West Indies, of the storming of 
Stony Point, of the surprise of Paulus Hook by Major 



23 

Lee, of the flight of General Provost from Carolina, and 
in closing adds, " Surely it is time for Britons to rouse 
from their delusive dreams of conquest and pursue such 
systems of future conduct as will save their tottering em- 
pire from total destruction." In July, 1779, Washing- 
ton had directed Parsons to hasten to check Tryon and to 
guide the efibrts of the people to stop him. This service 
he performed with great energy and skill and with a small 
force of only 150 contingent troops harassing and oppos- 
ing Tryon with his well organized troops of 2,600. On 
Jan. 31, 1781, just at the time when Heron was in active 
correspondence with Sir Heiny Clinton, Washington for- 
warded to Congress two reports of Major General Par- 
sons and Lieut. General Hull respecting an enterprise 
against DeLancey's corps at West Chester, in which with 
small loss on the American side the barracks of the corps 
were destroyed, and prisoners, cattle and horses were 
brought off and a bridge burnt. " General Parsons' ar- 
rangement were judicious," wrote Washington, " and the 
conduct of the officers and men is entitled to the highest 
praise." 

The following letters of General Parsons, of which I 
give in many instances abstracts, cover the entire period 
of the Heron correspondence, commencing, in fact, a 
month before any part of that correspondence appears : 

Aug. 15, 1780. General Parsons writes to General Ar- 
nold requesting an order for Canfield to remove his troops 
to Horseneck — in great need. 

Aug. 2, 1780. Writes a long and important letter from 
Danbury to Washington, stating the disposition of the 
troops and the recruits, and adding that the general as- 
sembly would undoubtedly at its session next week furnish 
more men. He also gives some valuable information just 
received with regard to the movements of the enemy on 



24 

Long Island, and Sir Henry Clinton's exploration of the 
condition of affiiirs with his own troops ; and also with 
regard to where transports were taking provisions. 

Aug. 25, 1780, writes to Arnold that one Walter, a 
seaman, can obtain valuable information with regard to the 
enemy in New York, and he can be relied on. Asks Ar- 
nold for orders to him to procure a boat and form a regu- 
lar course of intelligence by the way of Long Island to 
New York, by which he may get weekly intelligence. 
This he will undertake for " some certain pay in continen- 
tal money." 

Aug. 25, 1780. Writes to Arnold with regard to Thomas 
Osborne who had been condemned as a spy and advises 
that he be held until the statements he has made incul- 
pating many persons more important than himself be in- 
vestigated. 

Sept. 4, 1780. Writes to Arnold asking permission to 
join his brigade, stating that the volunteers were ready, 
and asking that the conduct of Captain Sill of Colonel 
Warner's regiment be inquired into. 

Sept. 5, 1780. Writes to Arnold setting forth the effect 
of Osborne's confinement as good. He proceeds to criti- 
cise Congress and says : " The cause of my country I will 
never forsake ; 'tis a just and glorious cause. The virtues 
of our General will ever attach us to his fortunes. But 
the wretches who have crept into Congress are almost 
below contempt ; our country will never prosper in their 
hands. They will starve us in the midst of plenty. To 
deny us very obvious justice and to insult us when we re- 
quire it is left only for politicians of the new world. My 
hand shall be added to any representation my brethren 
agree to make. I think the Insult should not be passed 
over in silence." 

October 4, 1780. Writes to Washington approving of 



25 

Sraallwood's promotion ; but complaining that he himself 
had been unjustly neglected, having served four years, and 
half the time commanded a division of the army. "Had 
the same principles actuated the councils of our states as 
have been the rules of proceedings in other nations, I 
should have had the rank due to the command long since 
conferred upon me." 

October 5, 1780, Camp. Writes to Washington asking 
leave to return to his family on account of sickness, and 
suggests that he be appointed on his return "to the com- 
mand of the troops near New Castle and Horseneck, until 
their service shall expire which I imagine will nearly end 
my own." 

November 12, 1780, Redding. Writes to Washington 
thanking him for promotion and proposing to adjust his 
private affairs so that he could join the army again, and 
sending an act of the Legislature of Connecticut for filling 
the army, " which if executed with spirit I hope will have 
the desired success." 

November 20, 1780, Redding. Writes to Washington 
that he has had a return of fever and ague, but will return 
to the army as soon as possible. 

December 25, 1780, Fishkill. Writes to the commander- 
in-chief asking that Lieutenants Grant and Cook, taken 
prisoners at Fort Washington, be restored to rank and pay, 
as if not captured. 

January 10, 1781, Camp in the Highlands. Writes ask- 
ing that a garrison of Virginia or Massachusetts or Mary- 
land or New Hampshire troops be sent to Wyoming, and 
not Pennsylvania troops of whom the New England set- 
tlers were jealous. 

January 12, 1781, Camp Highland. He writes to Wash- 
ington — "Dear General : The instances of firmness in the 
Connecticut line exhibited among the privates since I had 

4 



26 

the honor of seeing you, fully convinces me of the justice 
of my observations yesterday on that subject ; and I be- 
lieve the same spirit pervades the whole of the line. In 
two instances application was made this morning for fur- 
loughs. The men, privates, who had been three years ab- 
sent, were informed that in the defection of the Pennsylva- 
nia line they would be required to reduce them to their duty ; 
they answered without hesitation they had rather never see 
home than the cause of their country should suffer by such 
unjustifiable conduct, or that Your Excellency should be in 
danger from that or any other misconduct. They went 
back with great cheerfuhiess and said they would never 
apply again until they were brought back to their duty. 
And in many instances the oflScers' servants have begged 
to be armed and permitted to go on this duty. From these 
circumstauces and other observations I am convinced the 
fullest confidence may in this instance be placed in the Con- 
necticut troops." 

The above letter was written only a short time before 
Heron wrote to Sir Henry Clinton insinuations against 
Parsons and Stark. 

Jan. 23, 1781, Horseneck. Writes to Washington of his 
success in the expedition to "Sawpitts," Horseneck ; and 
on Jan. 24, of the difficulties of the expedition on ac- 
count of snow and cold. 

Mar. 31, 1781. He writes to Gov. Trumbull (a letter 
found among the Trumbull papers) stating the extensive- 
ness of those concerned in supplying the enemy and in 
illicit commerce. He extends his examination to com- 
merce by water as well as by land ; and is astonished at 
the list of inhabitants of Greenwich, Stamford and Nor- 
walk, exposed by the examination. He gives a list of 
them ; and asks how far he is to proceed in apprehending 
the persons named in the examination. 



27 

Mar. 3, 1781. Parsons in another letter to Gov. Trum- 
bull avows knowledge of constant intercommunication be- 
tween the disaffected scattered from New York to Canada. 
He says he knows who conveys the intelligence. He 
states the objections to intermeddling to be a doubt how 
far force may be employed for the purpose of discovery, 
and says he is under the most solemn engagements not 
to disclose the names of spies. He alludes to some slan- 
ders against him because he had made some similar dis- 
closures the previous summer. 

April 20, 1781. Writes to Washington giving an ac- 
count of his ill health and advising him that the operations 
of the disaffected have been brought to a stand, and urging 
the fitting out of an expedition to Lloyd's neck to cut off 
the enemy and asks to command it. 

April 30, 1781. Writes to Washington of his "still very 
feeble health ;" thinks a considerable check is put to the 
proceedings of the disaffected ; says a report is confiden- 
tially circulated among them that the British government 
"have given assurances to Colonel Allen thsit the state of 
Vermont shall be made a separate province if the war ter- 
minates in their favor, and that he shall be appointed 
Governor of the new province ;" and concludes by a rec- 
ommendation of the spy which I have already quoted. 

May 2, 1781. Writes to Washington that he has learned 
from New York that General Arnold was every hour ex- 
pected there to take command of the expedition (into 
Connecticut). "Admiral Arbuthnot is going to Eng- 
land, his officers refusing to serve longer with him." Ad- 
miral Graves who commands the fleet was in New York 
Saturday but expects to sail in a few days. Five ships 
of the line are in the East River, the rest in North River. 
The fleet with provisions had arrived without loss and the 
enemy are in high spirits. "Great dependence is placed 



28 

on the defection of Vermont ; they say their measures are 
fully secured there and that an army may be expected 
from Canada soon." No doubt Heron furnished him this 
information. 

June 26, 1781, Peekskill. Writes to Washington of the 
disaffection of Connecticut troops on account of the fail- 
ure of the state and the nation to pay them. He writes 
" by request." 

July 10, 1781, Camp, Peekskill. Writes stating the 
terms on which the officers expect to be paid. 

July 10, 1781, Camp near Dobbs' ferry. Writes urg- 
ing again the paying of the Connecticut troops and says : 

" Every other state has done much towards satisfying 
the just demands of the troops and Connecticut, the best 
able of any state in the Union, has done nothing." 

July 28, 1781. Writes that the inhabitants in the rear 
of the army are connected with the refugees who are on 
the roads in the rear and are acting the part of robbers and 
suggests a remedy. 

Autograph letters of General Parsons, written at this 
period, have recently been sold in Boston by Libbie & 
Co., exhibiting the same spirit as those I have presented. 
They are not addressed, but the dates of all are pre- 
served : — 

(1) Jan. 1, 1781, he writes from Camp Highland, con- 
gratulating a friend on his release and marriage, and giv- 
ing him notice that he would be called soon into service. 

(2) April 9, 1781, he writes to his correspondent, "please 
to present my compliments to your fellow-prisoners and 
that obstinate Tory, Parson Walter, my old friend." 

(3) May 3, 1781, he writes ordering the seizure of one 
Willard by a file of soldiers and denounced him as a vil- 
lain. 

(4) May 8, 1781, he writes ordering the execution of 



29 

one Rowland and directing the prisoners to attend the ex- 
ecution. 

These letters written in 1781, of which that of July 28 
to Washington is the last, cover the entire period of the 
Heron correspondence. The next letter on the file was 
written May 17, 1782, and announces his retirement from 
the army on account of " extreme ill health." 

To my mind these letters are conclusive with regard to 
the loyalty of General Parsons. They indicate a spirit of 
devotion to his country and they record acts in her ser- 
vice. They were evidently written by one who had the 
entire confidence of Washington, who was not deceived 
in his estimate of men, and whose suspicions of Parsons 
had he been in long communication with the enemy would 
have been roused as they were by the irregularities of Ar- 
nold. The spirit which produced these letters was ac- 
cepted as the true spirit of Parsons throughout the war 
and secured for him the confidence of his associate ofli- 
cers, Putnam and Hazen and Scammell and Wolcott and 
Hull and Heath, and of the community in which he lived 
when the war had ended, and a place in the councils of 
Manasseh Cutler and Rufus Putnam when they entered 
upon their great work of settling the northwest territory. 

In the diary of Cutler we find General Parsons alluded 
to often. On March 8, 1787, at a meeting of the Ohio 
Company held in Boston, Gen. Samuel H. Parsons, Gen. 
Rufus Putnam and the Rev. Manasseh Cutler were chosen 
directors to apply to Congress for the purchasing of land. 
On March 16, 1787, Cutler writes to Nathan Dane, "Gen. 
Parsons will make application to Congress in the name of 
the other directors in order to make the purchase for the 
company." On his journey to New York and Philadel- 
phia he spent an evening with General Parsons, settled all 



matters relatino' to his business with Cono^ress and re- 
ceived many letters from the general to the members. On 
July 5, 1787, he was ready to support Parsons for Gov- 
ernor, but found that General St. Clair had forestalled 
him, and consequently urged successfully his appointment 
as United States judge of the territory. On July 29, 
1787, he records with evident satisfaction "when I in- 
formed General Parsons of my negotiations with Congress 
I had the pleasure to find it not only met his approbation 
but he expressed his astonishment that I had obtained 
terms so advantageous." On his way from New York to 
Boston after the negotiation he "dined with Gen. Par- 
sons." 

Sept. 18, 1787, he writes that Generals Parsons and 
Putnam "are to go with 100 men to Oliio." On May 6, 
1789, Directors Parsons, Putnam and Griffin Green or- 
dered Putnam and Cutler to apply to Congress for addi- 
tional purchases. In all the important business of the 
company Parsons was constantly employed as a wise coun- 
sellor and an honest agent and director. 

It has beeu said of him that "all who knew him had sup- 
posed that he was a poor man, and to the surprise of every 
one he had a large amount of ready money to invest in the 
lands of the company. This was the fifty thousand dol- 
lars that Clinton had given him for his services." In an- 
swer to this charge I am informed by Douglas Putnam, 
Esq., a most respectable and venerable citizen of Mari- 
etta : — 

"I find in the list of the original proprietors in the Ohio 
Company's purchase the name of Parsons, Samuel H., as 
the proprietor of 2 shares ; 

Parsons, Samuel H. ( Proprietors of 

Parsons, W. W., and others, c tJiree shares. 



31 

In the division of the lands a share consisted of 11 73 J 
acres (in plots) of which the cost was understood to be 
$1000 in continental money and $10 specie." 

This disposes of the fifty thousand dollars charge. 

In conclusion, I place over against Heron's reputation 
and record and occupation, the services and correspond- 
ence and civil and military associations of General Parsons, 
and rest on them his vindication and his title in our sfen- 
eration to the esteem and confidence he enjoyed in his own. 

George B. Loring. 



APPENDIX. 



LETTER OF HON. CHAS. J. MCcORDY. 

Lyme, Conn., Oct. 15, 1888. 
Hon. George B. Loring. 

Dear Sir: 
Your letter of the 10th Inst, was duly received. Your vindica- 
tion of General Parsons is exhaustive and conclusive, and I am glad 
that it is to be published in a pamphlet form ; not only his family and 
friends but our states must feel under obligation to you for it. 

As you were aware that I had taken much interest in the matter and 
had once begun a similar article, you asli if I would like to add a 
supplementary letter. It would be close gleaning where you had 
reaped. But one or two points I would respectfully make, arising 
chiefly from the internal evidence of the Heron letters alone. It is 
known that General Washington kept direction of the " Spy bureau" 
exclusively in his own hands. On the twenty-second of February, 
1781, he wrote to General Parsons a confidential letter requesting him 
to employ a spy and promise him a generous compensation. On the 
fourteenth of March following. General Parsons answered that the 
spy employed had an assurance of generous pay. When General 
Washington wrote. Heron was undoubtedly in the British service and 
was at the same time on intimate terms with General Parsons, for he 
says in his letter of Feb. 4, 1781, " I spent apart of the night with 
Gen. Parsons and another with Gen. Stark" and am "intimate with 
both." 

This letter is long and minute and there is no hint of any defection 
of General Parsons, and there is no intimation of the kind until his 
letter of the twenty -fourth of April following; so that the evidence 
from the sequence of the dates is that on the twenty-second of Feb- 
ruary, General Washington requested General Parsons to employ a 
spy. On the fourteenth of March, General Parsons answered that he 
had employed one, and on the twenty-fourth of April, Heron writes 
for the first time in his letter giving an account of his first proposing 
the treason to General Parsons. 

The manifest conclusion from these facts, taking in connection with 
(32) 



33 

his proverbial sagacity and his selection and control of instruments 
that General Parsons knew his man all the time and had turned him 
from his former employers and probably with the full ^knowledge of 
"Washington. It is well known that along the line between the two 
armies this double espionage was a common occurrence. 

To one other point I will call your attention. The inducements 
purporting in the correspondence to have been held out to Gen. Par- 
sons as a reward for his treachery are oflfered by a subordinate indi- 
vidual without apparent authority, and are all vague, indefinite and 
ridiculous. In exchange for his command-in-chief of the Connecticut 
line of the continental army he is oflfered a position in the British army 
but the grade is notintimated. He is to have money, of course, "pieces 
of silver," but the amount is uncertain. He is to have a cask of 
wine, but whether a ten gallon or sixty gallon cask, and whether old 
Madeira or of the Jersey vintage are also left uncertain. It is suggested 
that he might share in the glory of Benedict Arnold, the miscreant 
whom he would have hung, if as was proposed, he could have been 
kidnapped in the manner of Gen. Prescott. Last, but not least, of the 
conditions of the infamous (pretended) bargain wasjthe promotion of 
Gen. Parsons' son Enoch. This is twice mentioned in the correspon- 
dence and was made a sine qua non. He was to "be taken into the 
British service and sent out of the country." It was perhaps thought 
by British officers that the doting father secretly hoped his son might 
in time rival the Clives and Hastings and other great commanders, 
"conquerors on foreign shores and the far wave." In this proposition 
also the rank was left indefinite. But certainly no less an office than 
the command of a regiment, perhaps a brigade, would be likely to 
satisfy the aspirations of such a father, and pay for the risk of his life 
and the sacrifice of his soul. 

Now who and what was this Enoch, and what had been the history 
of his exploits and his previous career? 

By a reference to Chancellor Walworth's genealogy of the Hyde 
Family it will be seen that this son of General Parsons was born on the 
fifth of November, 1769, and so was at this time eleven years and four 
months old. It would seem that the sham was too transparent to de- 
ceive even " the most credulous or obtuse of the enemy." I will 
only add that General Parsons was the last person who would trust 
himself within their lines for he was the one who sent his brother-in- 
law, Capt. Ezra Lee of Lyme, in Bushnell's torpedo under their ship 
of war in the harbor of New York for which both of them if taken 
would have been hung, the act being then denounced as outside the 
pale of civilized warfare. 

Yours, etc., 

Chas. J. McCURDY. 



34 

LETTER OF HON. CHA8. S. HALL. 

Binghamton, N. F., Oct. 16, 1888. 
Hon. George B. Loring. 

My dear Sir: 
Your "Viudication of General Samuel Holden Parsons" I have read 
with the greatest interest. It seems to me complete and to remove 
every shadow of suspicion which may have been thrown by the unex- 
plained correspondence in " Clinton's Secret Service Record" over 
the reputation of an ancestor whom I have always been taught to re- 
gard as one of the most devoted and trusted leaders in the war for 
American independence. 

A man worthy to be described as " one of the bravest and most ac- 
complished officers of the revolutionary era;" as the "sagacious com- 
panion of Washington;" as "one of the strongest arms on which 
Washington leaned; who first suggested the CJontinental Congress; 
from the story of whose life could almost be written the history of the 
Northern War;" should not have been denounced as a traitor on such 
insufficient evidence as the letters of William Heron. 

A Puritan of Pui'itans in his descent; possessed of high moral and 
intellectual qualities ; a graduate of Harvard and a member of the 
Connecticut bar; an intimate associate of the leading spirits and him- 
self a positive force in the revolt against Great Britain ; a member of 
the General Assembly for eighteen years ; intrusted frequently by his 
native state with important business; a colonel in the army at the 
breaking out of the war, and then successively brigadier and major 
general in the regular army by appointment of Congress ; who planned 
and carried through the capture of Ticonderoga; who through his 
whole career, both civil and military, was distinguished for his zeal, 
his bold, daring and fervent patriotism, his vigilance, activity, fore- 
sight and sagacity, his determined hostility to British rule and his bit- 
ter hatred and contempt for a tory ; — such a man is not the material 
out of which traitors are made. 

His correspondence shows the lofty tone and determined, uncom- 
promising spirit of the man. 

In his letter to Samuel Adams in 1773 suggesting a Continental Con- 
gress, he writes : — " The idea of inalienable allegiance to any prince 
or state, is an idea to me inadmissible ; and I cannot see but that our 
ancestors, when they first landed in America were as independent of 
the Crown or King of Great Britain, as if they had never been his sub- 
jects." 

To the Boston committee of defence he writes in 1774, " we consider 
the cause the common cause of all the colonies, and doubt not the 
concurrence of all to defend and support you. Let us play the man 



35 

for the cause of our countrv, and trust the event to Him who orders all 
events for the best good of His people." 

Governor Tryon in 1778 had burned several houses uear the Ameri- 
ican lines and turned women and children half clad into the streets in 
a severe night. Parsons reproached him for his savage barbarity and 
threatened to retaliate by burning the houses of Colonel Phillips and 
the DeLancey family. Tryon in his answer addressed Parsons as " a 
revolted subject of Great Britain." Parsons, with great spirit replied, 
"a justifiable resistance against unwarrantable invasions of the natu- 
ral and social rights of mankind, if unsuccessful, according to the 
fashion of the world, will be termed rebellion ; but if successful, will 
be deemed a noble struggle for the defence of everything valuable in 
life. Whether I am considered as a revolted subject of the King of 
Great Britain, or in any other light by his subjects, is very immaterial, 
and gives me little concern. Future ages, I hope, will do justice to 
my intentions, and the present to the humanity of my conduct." 

Just before he invaded Connecticut and burned Norvvalk in 1779, 
Tryon addressed a letter to Putnam and Parsons in which in closing 
he exclaims, " Sui'ely it is time for rational Americans to wish for a 
reunion Avith the parent state and to adopt such measures as will most 
speedily effect it." Parsons, replying, retorts, " Surely it is time for 
Britons to rouse from their delusive dreams of conquest, and pursue 
such systems of future conduct as will save their tottering empire from 
total destruction." 

In a letter to Washington reporting the battle he had fought with 
Tryon and the burning of Norwalk, Parsons writes: — " A few Tory 
houses are left which I hope our people will burn. I imagine Stam- 
ford will be the next object to wreak their hellisli malice upon." 

A man with treason in his heart does not breathe this spirit. Such a 
man, of necessity, stands far above suspicion. The tongue of slander 
may revile him, but none but the clearest and most incontrovertible evi- 
dence can weigh much against him in any candid and unprejudiced mind. 

It is against a man of this character that the charge of treason is 
brought on the strength of Heron's letters found in "Clinton's Secret 
Service Record." To anyone knowing Parsons, this charge is absurd- 
ity itself. His unhesitating reply would be, "these letters ai'e not 
what they seem ; there is unquestionably an explanation behind, which 
will dispel every suspicion." 

The explanation comes with your recent discovery amongthe Wash- 
ington papers of a letter written by Parsons to General Washington in 
April, 1782, in which he recommends William Heron as a suitable per- 
son to be employed as a spy, giving his reasons therefor and stating 
how useful and trustworthy he had found him in that capacity for sev- 
eral years. 
If this letter was written in good faith by Parsons, and, in view of 



36 

the character of the man and his confidential relations with "Washing- 
ton, it would not be just or reasonable to infer anything to the con- 
trary, then we must conclude that William Heron, during the period 
covered by his correspondence with Clinton, was a spy in the American 
service. This view of the case is fully supported by the circumstances 
you narrate in your "Vindication ;" and from all we can learn it is cer- 
tain that Heron did furnish information of great value to the patriot 
cause, while it nowhere appears that he was of any special service to 
Clinton. 

If Heron was an American spy, then the negotiations with Parsons 
which he professes to detail in his letters to Clinton are purely imagi- 
nary. They are the cunning inventions of the shrewd and sagacious 
man Parsons describes Heron to be, and were intended as a means to 
gain the confidence of Clinton and create in him the belief that his in- 
formant was most zealous in the British cause and able to render effi- 
cient and valuable service. 

After the defection of Arnold, Clinton seemed possessed with the 
idea that it would be easy to corrupt any American officer, and lost 
no opportunity ot attempting it. Hei-on exhibited his shrewdness and 
perception of character when he held out to Clinton this bait. So 
credulous was Clinton, that even the absurd suggestion that Parsons 
could be won over by a little money, a cask of wine and a commission 
in the navy for his son, did not seem to strike him as suspicious. 

Parsons' letter to Heronof July 8, 1781, was the final and conclusive 
proof which Heron presented to Clinton to convince him that he was 
able to fulfil his promise to enlist Parsons in the British service. 

And now, as to the true character of this letter which the Cyclopce- 
dia publishes as proof of Parsons' disloyalty and on which those who 
have doubted Parsons have laid great stress. 

It is now certain that this letter was not written to give information 
to Clinton, as was assumed before the discovery of Parsons' letter to 
Washington of April 6, 1782. 

It may have been written to Heron as a known friend of the cause 
and been used by him to effect his purposes without the knowledge 
of Parsons. It may have been concerted between Parsons and Heron 
to help out the deception Heron was practising on Clinton ; or it may 
have been forged by Heron. 

It does not seem probable that Parsons wrote this letter to Heron 
in order that he might use it to mislead Clinton. There was a risk 
and impropriety in such a step, which must have suggested itself to a 
man of Parsons' experience, which forbids the supposition. Besides, 
we have no evidence that Parsons had the least suspicion of the use 
Hei'on was making of his name with Clinton, nor is it likely that this 
would have been permitted had it come to his knowledge. 

On its face the letter is a Iriendly one and nothing more. And cex"' 



37 

tainly, there is an entire absence of anything to indicate a conscious 
ness of wrong doing, and a man of his character and previous associa- 
tions could not have been guilty of so base an act without leaving 
some ear mark to betray his purpose. The clause in the letter, "As 
the object of the campaign is the reduction of New York, we shall now 
effectually try the patriotism of our countrymen who have always 
given us assurances of assistance when this should become the object; 
of this I have had my doubts for several years, and wished it put to 
the test," sounds like Parsons aud is perfectly characteristic of him, 
and reads just as he would have written to Washington or Trumbull. 
But these ideas, while entirely natural aud in place in a letter to a 
friend, would hardly have come to mind, much less have found expres- 
sion, had he been writing a letter which he intended Heron to give to 
Clinton, whether to inform or mislead him. 

It is worthy of note tliat while this letter gives no information of 
value to Clinton, it is careful to mention in the most incidental way 
that "the reduction of New York is the object of the campaign, and 
to get in the fact that "the Minister of France is in camp and that the 
French troops encamped on our left near the Tuckahoe road." 

Lafayette at this time had succeeded in forcing Cornwallis down 
the Peninsula and everything else had been postponed to give him 
aid. Clinton was firm in his belief that New York and not Yorktown 
was the object of the preparations in the Highlands, and it was of the 
highest importance at this juncture that he should not be undeceived. 
What so well calculated to confirm him in his opinion, as the concen- 
tration of the French troops opposite his lines, and to lead him to 
think the danger imminent, as that the French Minister deemed the 
occasion important enough to warrant his presence in camp. The 
result was, as probably intended, that Clinton not only refused to re- 
inforce Cornwallis but ordered to New York tliree thousand of his 
troops. 

The artful way these facts are brought into the letter furnishes the 
strongest evidence of a careful preparation with intent to mislead. 
It may be merely a coincidence, but such paiusare taken to state these 
facts, and they were so likely to have impressed Clinton, that it is not 
improbable that this letter was the handiwork of Heron and part of 
his elaborate scheme of deception. 

Heron in his letter enclosing Parsons' letter to Clinton, in a post- 
script, very significantly says, "I thought it advisable to cut the name 
off the enclosed." Clinton was probably acquainted with the signa- 
ture of Parsons, although he may not have known his handwriting, 
and if this letter was a forgery, it was prudent of Heron to remove 
the signature to prevent deiection. 

It seems certain that this letter was either written to Heron as a 



S8 

friend and used by hira without authority, or else was forged by Heron ; 
and one supposition is perhaps as likely to be true as the other; but 
it is immaterial which, so far as Parsons' fame is concerned. 

It is unfortunate that Heron's real character was not known at the 
time his letters were discovered, and the charge which they seemingly 
implied thus prevented from going into the histories. These letters 
were of course a surprise even to Parsons' friends, and an explanation 
would naturally be sought for; but, as against the character and whole 
life of the man, they were not even prima facie evidence, and no one 
should have doubted for a moment that an explanation would in time 
be forthcoming. Thanks to your reseai'ches, the mystery is cleared 
up and the question I trust put to rest. 

Very truly yours, 

Charles S. Hall. 

1,etteu of gen. w. t. sherman. 

75 West 7lst Street, 
New York, Oct. 25, 1888. 
Hon. George B. Loring, Salem, Mass. 
My dear friend : 

Your kind note of Oct. 24, 1888, is just received, and I shall be 
coraplimented by the dedication of the pamphlet you name, the vindi- 
cation of General Parsons of the Revolutionary army and a prominent 
member of the Ohio Land Company which did so much to shape the 
destiny of the great northwest. . . . 

No man can escape calumny if he be a man of purpose and earnest- 
ness. . . . 

I was raised to venerate the names of Generals Rufus Putnam, Tup- 
per, Parsons, etc., and especially that of Chaplain Manasseh Cutler. 
My recollection is that General Parsons was of Connecticut, and that 
he was of the committee chosen by the Ohio company whose head- 
quarters were at Boston, to go in person to New York and urge on 
Congress the justice and wisdom of the purpose to found a new state 
northwest of the Ohio River. 

Always your friend, 

W. T. Sherman. 



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